I think by 2012 we should have upgraded all public transportation ( including the highspeed rail, and BART to San Jose) in the Bay Area. It's not that I don't like this idea but how are people who live so far away from their jobs do to better housing in the boonies going to get around on the freeway in mini electic things?

bastyle-

That's an interesting point, and would translate to the DC area as well. My gut tells me that the bulk of downtown traffic are 'burb commuters. If you want them to use less gas, put more money into public transportation. The DC transit system was built for tourists and could be ALOT more accessible for commuters and the people who live here.

kranky I'm sure it's like that in most major metro areas now L.A.'s public transporation system is the worst of the worst. I have seen these ethings on the street the little smart car size vehicles and unless everyone has to drive them I would be scared to be on the road

Yeah me too. I have seen a handful of SmartCars whizzing around downtown, but there is no way in heck I'd get on the beltway in one.

I have a rant about the DC metro and since someone else brought it up, I feel like I can vent here! For TWO DAYS there has only been one escalator open at the Foggy Bottom station. Meaning, one line of people goes down and one line of people goes up. I had to wait 20 minutes to get on the escalator to get to the metro one day. (And it was cold out.) Then, I forgot the next morning and had to wait 15 minutes to exit. (I took the elevator, which I'm pretty sure saved me some time.) I have been getting on and off at Foggy Bottom now, but I still find this ridiculous!

OK, rant over.

I remember Obama mentioning something bout how we have to strength out infrastructure...I know public transportation fits in there?

stength out = strengthen our.....sorry I've been up since 5am

yay im so glad to hear about the electric car thing. i ALMOST bought a prius last december but a smart friend told me to wait because something better would be coming along soon - he was right!

Oh lilkimbo - rant your heart out. I takes me less time to walk to work these days (over 3 miles) than take public transportation.

One morning I had to wait 10 minutes for a blue line train! Ten minutes at 8:30 in the morning!

good for them. I agree... no way I'd drive from Gilroy to SF in one of those things those. But I live in a small town and we have a dealer for electric cars... they have a LONGGGGGG way to go. The AC in those things is ridiculous... no kidding they have an ice cooler in the back... here is a picture and NO I am not kidding

AI posted a comment but it got flagged. It has a picture of the air conditioning in these little electric cars... they definitely have a long way to go. No joke they have ice chests in the back of them
check out this link for the image it is called the swampy ice mister
www. metaefficient.com/ category/air-conditioning

I can't wait for that to come to San Diego as well.

me either, jude c.

socal (la and oc especially) could really benefit from those if we all drove them around.

sigh, that'd be beautiful

Yeah, I hope eventually we can walk down a downtown street without feeling like we've smoked two packs of cigarettes in two minutes. That would be nice.

San Diego's not so bad with the pollution, though. This should definitely hit L.A. first.

Ohh wow. I hope that we can update our L here in Chicago along with our buses. This sounds like a great idea.